Heart of Life
by royal-chandler
Summary: Moments between Kristina and Ethan. Starts at about five years in the future. Full of fluff, maybe even borderline sappy.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own GH or any of its characters.

It's a risk but Ethan's never shied away from one and he isn't about to start now. Five years ago, he'd promised himself that he would never forgive her—something about flying pigs first—but now he's here in this moment and Ethan can't help but eat his words.

She's matured and not only physically because God she's _stunning_ but Kristina's also caring, willing to listen, supportive and able to be completely selfless. She's apologized profusely but Ethan doesn't want any more of that. He wants to enjoy her laughter and smiles without the bitter taste of the past. All he wants is to be with her. Not the 17 year old misguided girl who still clings to guilt and pain but the Kristina Davis who returned from university a year ago with a confidence he found magnetic, the woman, who with the help of those closest to her, started an annual benefit concert for battered women and children, the best friend that he never knew he was missing.

It's a risk, taking this chance on her. But Ethan can't deny his heart so he heads over to her table at Kelly's. "Hey, there stranger. Mind if I sit with you?"

"Never," Kristina says, giving him a smile so bright that it nearly knocks the wind out of him but still he somehow manages to situate himself in the chair opposite from her's. "What's up?"

Suddenly, his nerves are working over time and he's not sure how to get letters in his head to form words out of his mouth.

However, Kristina's there, like always, and she stretches across the table to place her hand on his. "Are you alright?"

The skin-on-skin contacts clears his head and lungs, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Sorry 'bout that." Ethan takes a deep breath before adding, "I just wanted to ask you a question."

"Okay."

Getting braver by the moment, Ethan tangles their fingers together, can't help but notice how perfectly their hands fit. "I wanted to know if you'd like to meet me at the MetroCourt tonight."

She looks at him uncertainly, "For a date? You want to take me out?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Ethan strokes him thumb over one of her knuckles, takes pleasure in how the action makes her shiver. "Because I like you."

"As a friend," Kristina clarifies as if she won't allow herself to believe in this moment.

He smiles before and after pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. "You're the best mate that anyone could ever ask for. There's no doubt about that but I'd like to try for something more...if you're willing to take the chance. I want to be with you, Kristina."

She shakes her head while softly saying, "I don't want to hurt you, Ethan. Not again."

"You don't want to hurt me? Then look me in the eye and tell me what you want."

There's a few beats that make up for his stopping heart when Ethan gets his answer.

"You. I want you."

(***)

"Would you believe me if I said that I did not mean for our first time to happen this way?" Ethan pants against her neck, his skin hot and branding her own.

Kristina laughs and it echoes in the empty casino, greeting the walls of the Haunted Star and retreating back to the floor on which they both lay. "I would hope not. I'd have to re-evaluate my sanity in choosing you as my significant other." She laughs even harder when he begins to tickle her side. Having always been extremely sensitive, she raises the white flag before he has the chance to do his 'worst', the level of poking fingers that always left her completely breathless.

"I'm wounded," Ethan says, dramatically placing a hand over his chest. "It's half your fault anyway, love."

Raising a perfectly-kept brow, Kristina regards him skeptically, "Is that so? What exactly leads you to that conclusion."

Ethan props himself onto an elbow, smirking down at her, "You could have just said no and chosen not to participate...waited for the," his dislike of the following is evident: "candlelight, rose petals and wine. All of that romantic shit."

"You're not into any that," Kristina reminds him with a smile. "Also I don't want what you think would be perfect for me. Being with you kind of already is, Ethan."

"Baby, I feel the same way," Ethan agrees and then places a kiss onto her nose. "You're amazing, you know that?"

When he talks like that, all sort of creatures run wild in her stomach, fluttering around alongside the butterflies...like the forest from Snow White or something like that. Kristina pulls him back over her and stroke his arms with her hands, slow and rhythmically, "Thanks. You're not too bad yourself; resistance is absolutely impossible with you. And getting to think about it, this place actually fits us really well."

He gazes at her with fond eyes, "Yeah and how's that?"

"Poker, taking gambles, high stakes, hearts, praying for the best outcome." Kristina gives him a quick peck between each explanation.

"Smart woman. I like the way that you think," Ethan moans in a way that is low and rough and Kristina watches as his eyes darken with lust.

Kristina arches her back off of the carpet while twisting her legs with his. She whispers, "I hope you like a lot more than that."

"God, I will never be able to walk into this place without think of you lying here naked and so damned beautiful."

She scratches lightly at his back and innocently inquires, "Is that such a horrible thing?"

"Fuck no."

And his kiss tastes a lot like forever.

(***)

"A little more to the left," Kristina tells him from her standing position on the couch, hand on her chin in sincere concentration. She then makes a sour face. "Never mind. I like it better on the right."

Ethan rolls his eyes half-heartedly, going in said direction.

It's moving day and they're making some accommodations and adjustments to make his apartment their apartment. However, his girlfriend's prized painting is becoming heavy in his arms and she promised him a break from this madness twenty minutes ago. "Kristina, love, why do I feel like I'm in a bad sitcom?"

She gives him a tiny frown, "I'm sorry. Really I am but it just doesn't look right."

"Do you want to try it on another wall?"

"No, it won't do any good anywhere else."

Ethan furrows his brows together. "Well how do you know that if we haven't tried it yet?"

"If it's not right there, it'll throw the entire living room off," Kristina explains.

He doesn't even bother touching that bit of rationalizing.

Ethan sighs and prays that they'll be done by nightfall. He'd never taken this into consideration—how much time and effort it would take to get her things situated in his home. When Kristina had started rambling on about having no privacy in her mother's house and feeling like a child again, Ethan had acted on a gut-impulse, inviting her to move in. It made enough sense to him. When she wasn't at the university or work, nine times out of ten, she could be found here. Although, now it's been over four hours and there are still many boxes left for them to sort through. In his woes, Ethan manages to fidget and move about six inches. Fearful of Kristina's wrath, he opens his mouth to apologize but stops short when he sees her raise her hands in victory.

"Ah! It's perfect!" Kristina exclaims.

Ethan regards her strangely, "It is?"

Kristina nods, hands on her hips with a sign of approval in her features, "Yep, I'm positive."

"Thank Christ," Ethan begins, relaxing and placing the artwork against the wall, "I mean, I love you but I wasn't sure as to how much more I could--"

He doesn't finish because for some reason, she flies off of the couch like an acrobat. Luckily, he has good instincts and quick feet, and catches her in his arms before she hits the floor. "Baby,what in the hell are you doing? Practicing for the fucking circus?"

Wrapping her legs around his middle and her arms around his neck, Kristina ignores the questions. Instead she kisses him fondly before drawing back with a wide grin, "Say it again."

Ethan brushes away strands of her hair that went astray. Softly, he asks, "What, love?"

"That," Kristina encourages, nudging him with her forearm. "That word. Say it again."

Realization hits him and he feels warm. He hopes to God that he's not blushing but knows that it's futile. "You're a sap, you know that? A sap who's entirely insane and off her rocker." Ethan couldn't keep the affection out of his voice even if he wanted to. "I love you, Kristina."

"I love you," she states before bending her head to kiss him again, sweet, gentle and long.

"That's nice to know," Ethan tells her. His mischievous side getting the better of him, he prompts, "Now will you be flying off of the couch every time I say this? Just so I can know to invest in a safety net or some kind of mat."

She dignifies that with a pinch to his ear.

(***)

Patrick had told her to brace for the sight of the tubes and machines but nothing could prepare Kristina to see her husband like this. He was pale against the blue standard sheets and bruises marred his face, matching the ones along his throat and arms. They'd said that he was lucky, considering the state of the car and how close it been to the icy banking but looking at Ethan now, Kristina wasn't sure as to how this could be called luck. How can luck be anything but a word when they were also telling her that he may not recover.

Kristina chokes back a sob and feels as though she's going to be sick but she puts his wellbeing above her own and continues into the hospital room. She carefully eases herself into the plastic chair at his bedside before taking his hand in hers gently. "Hey, baby. I'm right here. I'm right here and I'm not leaving you, Ethan."

There's a pause but Kristina soon finds that she can't stand the sound of the beeps that fill the small space so she continues to speak, "You want to know something funny? I was already here today, earlier this morning. I, um, I had an appointment with Dr. Lee. I've been getting some headaches and stomachaches lately and I wanted to confirm with her what I already knew in my heart." She laughs softly despite the prickling behind her eyes, goes to brush his bangs with her fingers. "I think you can guess as to where I'm going with this. I wanted to tell you when you got home but you had to go and mess up my plans. Dinner's still sitting on the table. I even bought a stuffed koala."

"Ethan, you're going to be a father," She tells his still form in a miraculous tone. Wiping at the tears that stream down her face, Kristina continues. "And I'd really appreciate it if you could wake up so that we can celebrate together and get ready for this baby _together_. There's no way that I can do this without you. I mean, I know that we haven't talked about it much but I have a feeling that you'd be so happy. You're going to be a great dad. I see it, Ethan, more clearly than anything else. A future without you pushing our little boy or girl on the swing, telling them stories about down under or singing them to sleep...that's a future that's incomprehensible to me."

She cries, pitiful and low, "Please wake up. I need you so much."

Kristina rests her forehead against their combined hands. She doesn't know the amount of time that passes before a hand gently shakes her shoulder.

Luke extends a steaming foam cup to her.

"I can't--"

"You can," Luke assures her. "It's herbal tea. I accidentally overheard you telling my son here that you're expecting, figured that you need to keep your strength up."

"Thanks, Luke." She accepts it with a tiny smile, the first one that she's had to try at all day. It's a small gesture but in Kristina's eyes, it means a whole lot more.

Kristina's lie had severed many ties, causing long-lasting ill effects on the families of Port Charles but with each passing day since she had step foot back into town, Kristina senses that the animosity is starting to fade. The Spencers still had a hard time accepting her relationship with Ethan but everyone was trying and that was more than Kristina could have ever asked for. Ethan wasn't particularly fond of the situation but Kristina was grateful that the man she loved had so many looking out for him. That made her love them.

Luke regards her with worried eyes, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm going to lose the most important person in my life." Admitting it aloud tightens her insides with dread.

His hand returns to her shoulder, gives it a squeeze in companionship, "You can't think like that, darlin'. He's going to be alright you've got to believe that."

Kristina stares at Ethan, memorizing him, "I'm so scared."

"That's understandable," Luke says with a wisdom that Kristina deems comforting. "But you can't give up on him, Kristina. He needs to know that you believe in tomorrow so that he can believe in it as well. The way that you get your strength from him, he gets his from you. Ethan trusts in you. Don't let him down by letting your fear get the best of you." He sighs quietly. Gesturing to the tea, he says, "Now drink up. My son will have my head if I don't take care of you."

They stay in difficult silence, willing Ethan to join them.

(***)

"You feeling any better?" Ethan asks with concern as he wraps his arms around Kristina, fitting behind her on their long beach towel. He drops a kiss onto her sun-drying hair.

Kristina relaxes into him and sighs, "A little. I still can't believe that I got sea sick from swimming." Ethan can't see the pout but if he knows Kristina, and he _does_, the pout is most definitely there. "I feel like I'm ruining our vacation."

"You're doing no such thing," Ethan assures her lightly. "I'm having a great time and that wouldn't be the case if it weren't for you, Kristina."

It's been a relaxing week on Sonny's island, isolated from other people and away from the stress of Port Charles. Ethan hadn't expected his father-in-love to make such a gracious offer but Ethan knows that Sonny wants the best for Kristina. These past few months have been utter chaos with his recover so the sound of the waves and being alone with his wife is a pleasant gift.

"You're just saying that to be nice," Kristina mumbles, absentmindedly making shapes in the sand.

He nips at her neck causing her to release a laugh. "I'm saying it because it's the truth. Since when have I ever been nice?"

"Oh hush," Kristina replies, tilting back her head to gaze up at him. "You may want everyone to think that you're a bad boy but I know better. You, Ethan Lovett, are the best man that I've ever met. I'm very fortunate to be with you."

"Now who's being suspiciously sweet?"

"Shut," a quiet yawn, "up."

"Someone's worn out," Ethan observes, hugging her tighter. "You want to head back to the villa?"

"No." Kristina focuses her attention on the setting sun. "I like it here. I'm tired but not sleepy. I'm happy here. When I was younger, I never thought that I could get this. There were standards and certain things were expected of me and I had these grandeur ideas of where I would be." She grabs his hand and places into on of her extended stomach. "None of it compares to this moment, Ethan. Tell me that it's going to last forever."

"For as long as I'm breathing," Ethan promises.


End file.
